Fluid flow control device for tenter machines utilizing super-heated steam



Jan. 9, 1962 FLUID FLOW CONTROL DEVICE FOR TENTER MACHINES Filed March 14, 1960 J. M CREARY UTILIZING SUPER-HEATED STEAM 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

Jan. 9, 1962 J. M CREARY 3,015,893

FLUID FLOW CONTROL DEVICE FOR TENTER MACHINES UTILIZING SUPER-HEATED STEAM Filed March 14, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 if IN V EN TOR.

(Jo/Fl? /Va 67217 BY United States Patent 3,015,893 FLUID FLOW CONTROL DEVICE FOR TENTER MACHINES UTILIZING SUPER-HEATED STEAM John McCreary, N. Mohawk St., Cohoes, N.Y. Filed Mar. 14, 1960, Ser. No. 14,921 8 Claims. (Cl. 34-158) This invention pertains to tenter machines, having particular reference to such machines utilizing super-heated steam circulating in a cabinet as the drying and setting medium for the fabric, with a flow control chamber therein to direct the super-heated steam to the underside of any size fabric, the chamber being adjustable as the tenter beds are adjustable to accommodate varying fabric widths, and the provision of such a chamber is a principal object of the invention.

A tenter machine utilizing super-heated steam is dis closed in the Peck Patent No. 2,773,312, and it is an object of the invention to provide a distinct and novel improvement over the Peck patent by means of such an adjustable flow control chamber.

The characteristics and properties concerning drying and setting of fabric, and especially synthetic fabrics, are adequately disclosed in the Peck patent and need not be amplified here since the present invention is directed primarily to the above mentioned control chamber.

Thus, a more specific object of the invention is the provision of such a control chamber comprising a bottom pressure distributive member, a top pressure diffusion member, and self-adjusting side walls or slidable defiectors movably connected at their bottoms to the bottom member and at their tops to the tenter chain beds to be moved toward and away from each other as the beds are moved to receive difierent sizes or widths of fabrics therebetween.

Other specific objects of the invention are the provision of an improved system or means of circulation of the super-heated steam embodying a novel design for distribution and dispersion of the steam uniformly with respect to the fabric, and to provide re-routing means for the steam when the machine is stopped for any reason in order that no injury will occur to the fabric due to the intense heat of the super-heated steam.

Other objects of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.

The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction, combination of elements, and arrangement of parts, which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter set forth and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the claims.

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention reference should be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view, with parts broken away, of such a machine embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is an elevational or front view of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a horizontal plan view taken through FIG. 1, with parts broken away and parts in section, to illustrate various levels therethrough;

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view taken along the lines 4--4 of FIG. 3 and looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged detail view, with parts broken 3,$l5,893 iatented Jan. 9, 1962 away and parts in section, taken along the lines 55 of FIG. 2 and looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 6 is a view taken along the lines 6-6 of FIG. 5; and

FIG. 7 is an enlarged, fragmentary sectional view taken along the lines 77 of FIG. 6 and looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, there is shown the pertinent portion of such a machine for dry ing and setting fabrics 10 by means of super-heated steam circulating in a cabinet 11, the fabric 10 being stretched between tenter chain beds 12 that are adapted to be moved toward and away from each other in any suitable conventional manner to accommodate fabrics of any difierent size or width.

In such a machine I provide a novel type of adjustable flow control chamber 13 in the bottom of the cabinet 11 for directing the super-heated steam to the underside of the fabric 10 in order to pass therethrough. Such a chamber includes a bottom pressure distributive member preferably in the form of a plate 14 having relatively large perforations 15 to diffuse the steam passing therethrough. Such a plate is fixed in spaced relation from the bottom 16 of the cabinet 11 and preferably is angularly disposed with respect to such bottom to provide an entrance indicated generally at 17 where it is raised from the bottom. Such plate is aflixed in raised position by a pin 18 of a piano type of hinge 19; and fixed to the bottom by a similar pin 20 for a piano type of hinge 21 to confine the steam to a passage through the perforations 15 of the plate.

A top pressure difiusion member, also preferably in the form of a plate 22 having numerous perforations 23, that are relatively small compared with those shown at 15 in the bottom plate 14, is afiixed to opposite sides of the machine in any suitable manner. The diffusion member 22 is disposed substantially parallel to the cabinet bottom 16 and to the underside of the fabric 10, being adapted to lie closely adjacent the latter so that the super-heated steam properly can be diffused therethrough.

Adjustable side walls indicated generally at 24 and 25 are movably connected at their bottoms to the bottom member 14, that is, by means of the hinge pins 18 and 20, and at their tops to depending lugs 26 of the beds 12, also by means of hinge pins 27 and 28.

In this manner it will be seen that such side walls or slidable deflectors will be moved toward and away from each other as the beds 12 are similarly moved to receive different sizes or widths of fabric therebetween. Such side Walls or deflectors are made up of two slidable plates 29 and 39 in face-to-face engagement with each other within a flat sleeve 31 on one side of the machine, such plates terminating in piano types of hinges, also indicated at 21, interconnected by the hinge pin 20 where the bottom perforated plate 14 is affixed to the bottom 16 of the cabinet. To the right or raised portion of the lower perforated member 14, the side walls comprise a similar arrangement on a smaller scale, namely, slidable plates 32 and 33 in face-to-face cont-act between a fiat sleeve 34, the plate 33 being connected by means of the hinge pin 18 since it also terminates in a portion of the piano hinge as shown at 19.

The plate 22 is similarly held by the piano hinge pin a,015,ea3

28; and the plate 29 is similarly held by the piano hinge pin 27 where the latter two hinge pins are connected to the lugs 26 of the beds 12. Consequently, it will be seen that while the bottoms of the side walls or slidable deflectors are pivoted at their lower ends, they are adapted to be moved toward and away from each other as shown in the dotted line positions of FIGS. 2 and 4 since they are carried by the beds 12 when different widths of fabric 10 are stretched therebetween.

The manner in which the fabrics are held in position is indicated in FIG. 6 in which there is shown one mar ginal edge portion of a fabric caught by a tenter hook 35. However, a high speed type of bed and chain arrangement for use with super-heated steam drying and setting of such fabrics as shown in a co-pending application filed concurrently herewith and forms the subject matter of a separate invention entitled, High Speed Tenter Chain Device.

Where the elongated hinge pins 27 and 28 pass outside of the cabinet (see FIGS. 2, and 6) I provide two strips of upper and lower plastic materials 36 and 37 that are in edge-to-edge cont-act so that the pins 27 and 28 can slide therebetween as the beds are adjusted, the flexible or resilient nature of the sealing strips 36 and 37, preferably being made of a plastic material such as Teflon, being such as to substantially envelop the pins so that super-heated steam cannot escape from the cabinet and atmosphere from the outside find entrance thereto.

In order constantly to circulate the super-heated steam, I provide at least one or more centrifugal blower type of fan within a housing 38 communicating by means of a conduit 39 with heater means indicated generally at 40 for super-heating the steam. Any suitable motor, or motors, 41 drive the fans or blowers within the housing 38 through a belt 42 connected to the shaft on which the fans are mounted.

After the steam is super-heated it passes into circulating conduit 43 where it is properly deflected by curved corner bafiles 44 and directed through the opening indicated generally at 17 to the bottom of the distributive member or plate 14 as above described and again recirculated through the chamber 13 and fabric 10.

If for any reason the machine is stopped so that the fabric is not being moved .therethrough, it is necessary during such time to prevent the super-heated steam from doing any injury to the fabric. This is best accomplished by automatically or manually, as desired, deflecting or rerouting the super-heated steam so that it does not come in contact with the fabric. This preferably can be done without any loss of steam by exhausting it from the cabinet or without any loss of time in waiting for the repreparation thereof, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 of the drawings. Here there is shown a side wall 45 which extends along one side of the'cabinet, the same being hinged to an extension of the bottom perforated plate 14 by a hinge pin 46. Normally the plate 45 is in raised position to shut off the re-cycling conduit indicated generally at 47 in order that the super-heated steam may flow as shown by the arrows through the opening indicated generally at 17. However, if the machine should stop and the fabric come to a halt, the gate or wall 45 is dropped to the dotted line position in order to shut off the opening 17 and re-route the super-heated steam to be recycled through the conduit 47 in an upward direction as shown by the arrows therein. In order to drop such plate, there is shown a manually operated handle 48 connected to a shaft 49 having a cam 51) (FIG. 7) afiixed thereto to urge the gate or wall 45 downwardly against the action of the spring 51.

Such an arrangement has many advantages because the effect thereof is to provide a control chamber in which the throat or outlet portion can readily be expanded or constricted in accordance with the. width of the fabric that is to be dried or set in passing through such a tenter machine.

Since certain changes may be made in the above construction and different embodiments of the invention could be made without departing. from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described, and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

Having described my invention What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a machine of the character described for drying and setting fabrics by means of super-heated steam circulating in a cabinet, which fabrics are stretched between tenter chain beds that are adapted to be moved toward and away from each other to accommodate fabrics of different widths, comprising an adjustable flow control chamber in the bottom of said cabinet for directing said super-heated steam to the underside of said fabric to pass therethrough, said chamber including a bottom pressure distributive member, a top pressure diffusion member positioned beneath said tenter chain beds, and adjustable side walls movably connected at their bottoms to said bottom member, and at their tops to said beds to be moved toward and away from each other as said beds are moved to receive different sizes or widths of fabrics therebetween.

2. In a machine of the character defined in claim 1, and further characterized in that said bottom member comprises a perforated plate fixed in spaced relation from the bottom of said cabinet;

3. In a machine as set forth in claim 2, and wherein said plate is angularly disposed with respect to said cabinet bottom to provide an entrance for said steam along one side where it is raised from said bottom and a baffie portion along its opposite side to confine said steam to passage therethrough where it is affixed tosaid cabinet bottom.

4. In a machine of the character defined in claim 1, and further characterized in that said top member is provided with relatively small perforations disposed substantially parallel to said cabinet bottom and to the underside of said fabric, and adapted to lie closely adjacent said fabric. a e

5. In a machine of the character defined in claim 1, and further characterized in that said side walls are pivoted in fixed position at their bottoms to said bottom member and pivoted to said beds at their tops to move with said beds.

6.-In a machine of the character defined in claim 1, and further characterized in that said side walls each comprise a plurality of sections that are inter-engageable to be moved into extensible and contractable position as said beds are moved.

7. In a machine of the character described for drying and. setting fabrics by means of super-heated steam circulating in a cabinet, which fabrics are stretched between tenter chain beds that are adapted to be moved toward and away from each other to accommodate fabrics of different widths, comprising an adjustable fiow control chamber in the bottom of said cabinet for directing said super-heated steam to the underside of said fabric to pass therethrough, said chamber including a bottom pressure distributive member, a top pressure diffusion member positioned beneath said tenter chain beds, and adjustable side walls movably connected at their bottoms to said bottom member, and at their tops to said beds to be moved toward and away from each other as said beds are moved to receive difierent sizes or widths of fabrics therebetween, and means to reheat exhausted steam passed through said fabric and to recirculate the same in superheated form into said flow control chamber.

8. In a machine of the character described for drying and setting fabrics by means of super-heated steam circulating in a cabinet, which fabrics are stretched between tenter chain beds that are adapted to be moved toward and away from each other to accommodate fabrics of different widths, comprising an adjustable flow control chamber in the bottom of said cabinet for directing said super-heated steam to the underside of said fabric to pass therethrough, said chamber including a bottom pressure distributive member, a top pressure dilfusion member positioned beneath said tenter chain beds, and adjustable side walls movably connected at their bottoms to said bottom member, and at their tops to said beds to be moved toward and away from each other as said beds are moved to receive different sizes or widths of fabrics therebetween, means to re-heat exhausted steam passed through said fabric and to re-circulate the same in superheated form into said flow control chamber, and means to shut off communication of the super-heated steam with the flow control chamber when said machine has stopped and to re-route said steam to said circulating means out of contact with said fabric.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,773,312 Peck Dec. 11, 1956 

